U.S. Terrorism Agency To Tap A Vast Database Of Citizens -- Wall Street Journal
Top U.S. intelligence officials gathered in the White House Situation Room in March to debate a controversial proposal. Counterterrorism officials wanted to create a government dragnet, sweeping up millions of records about U.S. citizens—even people suspected of no crime.
Not everyone was on board. "This is a sea change in the way that the government interacts with the general public," Mary Ellen Callahan, chief privacy officer of the Department of Homeland Security, argued in the meeting, according to people familiar with the discussions.
A week later, the attorney general signed the changes into effect.
Through Freedom of Information Act requests and interviews with officials at numerous agencies, The Wall Street Journal has reconstructed the clash over the counterterrorism program within the administration of President Barack Obama. The debate was a confrontation between some who viewed it as a matter of efficiency—how long to keep data, for instance, or where it should be stored—and others who saw it as granting authority for unprecedented government surveillance of U.S. citizens.
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More News On A New Surveillance Program To Monitor All U.S. Citizens
Attorney General Secretly Granted Gov. Ability to Develop and Store Dossiers on Innocent Americans -- Threat Level
CONFIRMED: US Counterterrorism Agency Can Amass Data On Any Citizen -- Business Insider
There's a New Super-Database of Your Information to Hunt Underwear Bombs -- The Atlantic
Everyone is fair game: Spy agency conducts surveillance on all US citizens -- RT
US counterterrorism agency will store data on innocent Americans to look for future crimes -- The Verge
Massive New Surveillance Program Uncovered by Wall Street Journal -- Slate
National Counterterrorism Center A 'Pre-Crime' Squad Under Obama, Critics Charge -- Matt Sledge, Huffington Post
Great news: Your permanent record is now available on demand -- Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
My Comment: No public debate. No Congressional involvement. Nothing. And where is the ACLU? Privacy advocacy groups? The media? Again .... nothing. But what we have is a bunch of bureaucrats .... with the Attorney General's blessing .... agreeing that info on all U.S. citizens can be monitored and stored. Unbelievable.
And what is even more unbelievable is that we are learning about it right now .... not in March when the agreement to implement it was done.
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